The Dehumanization of Urban Trade: A Qualitative Analysis of Q-Commerce’s Impact on Traditional Micro-Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The vital social role played by the ‘Kirana’ retail outlets faces unprecedented challenges as business approaches witness the rapid growth of digital transactions. This research paper discusses the impact of the increase in Quick Commerce on dehumanized trade practices and their subsequent effects on ‘micro’ entrepreneurs. While digital transactions simplify life for consumers, they simultaneously undermine the age-old social role played by ‘Kirana’ outlets to establish community trust through person-to-person contact and ‘unofficial’ credit. This research paper adopts qualitative research to probe the extent to which ‘natural’ relationships get severed to isolate vendors through the incredibly fast digital transaction system. It shall further analyze ‘Kirana’ retailers’ adaptation to or absorption within the explosive increase of Q-Commerce through the change in trend exhibited by organized retail. This research paper shall critically analyze the transformation from human-resource trade to algorithmic delivery to assess the subsequent change in social dynamics at the grassroots level and determine whether the ‘search for convenience’ among consumers might be resulting in the systematic depletion of community cohesion.